Atheists: Do you have other heroes?

[Oeditpus Rex]

Aside from one or both of your parents or a teacher. I mean "heroes" of the sports figure/celebrity variety.

I'm going on the notion that some types of people need to look up to someone while others don't.

[tjdee]

1. Oh for pete's sake.

:popcorn:

[Mutley]

4. Can I have some?

:popcorn:


:D

[Kerrytravelers]

9. Have a beer, as well.

On me.

[Nevernose]

22. Is Pete your hero?

Who the Hell is Pete?
:)

[wildhorses]

2. .

:popcorn:

[swag]

3. That's a nice series of non sequiturs.

Keep up the good work.

[PassingFair]

5. "Babraham" Lincoln

Stephen Colbert and ......

































Howard Dean.

[Mutley]

6. No, I've no need for heroes.

That's why I'm an atheist. ;)

[Gold Metal Flake]

7. On Your Knees

[Oeditpus Rex]

8. Okay, I admit

I could probably worship the chick standing on the Corsair wing.

[NMMNG]

10. I don't

Ironically though, Ayn Rand (who derided theism/religion/"mysticism" of any sort) prided herself on being a hero worshiper, those "heroes" being self-centered capitalists who cared only for the almighty dollar and their own personal achievement.

[Dangerously Amused]

11. Oops, wrong place.

Butanyway, hi Buffy! How you been GF?

:hi:

[NMMNG]

14. Hanging in there

I'm thrilled at the arrival of some real summer-like temperatures during the day, though the nights are still pretty cool. In a few weeks it should be nice round the clock.


How about you? :bounce:

[Dangerously Amused]

18. Heya!

Busy day today but otherwise doing well, chicka.

:7


Hey, are you going to Summerfest this year?

[NMMNG]

20. Probably not

Getting time off for anything other than moving and getting settled into my new place will probably be unlikely this summer. :-(

[Dangerously Amused]

21. Aw crapola.

P!nk is playing on the main stage, you know...

[Oeditpus Rex]

13. Finally!

A reasoned response. :hug:

[Dangerously Amused]

12. It leads me to wonder...

Where have all the good men gone
And where are all the gods?
Where's the street-wise Hercules
To fight the rising odds?
Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?
Late at night I toss and turn and dream
of what I need



I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night
He's gotta be strong
And he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light
He's gotta be sure
And it's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life

Somewhere after midnight
In my wildest fantasy
Somewhere just beyond my reach
There's someone reaching back for me
Racing on the thunder end rising with the heat
It's gonna take a superman to sweep me off my feet



Up where the mountains meet the heavens above
Out where the lightning splits the sea
I would swear that there's someone somewhere
Watching me

Through the wind end the chill and the rain
And the storm and the flood
I can feel his approach
Like the fire in my blood

[Robeson]

15. People I admire, sure. But it usually has nothing to do with religion....

...the admiration comes from what they've done for humanity.

As for hero worship, well, that's never part of the equation.

[wickerwoman]

16. Katherine Hepburn, John Lennon, Albert Camus...

Not believing in God doesn't mean you can't try to model your life on other people who have qualities you admire.

[nonconformist]

17. There are a lot of people I admire

But I wouldn't go so far as to call them a "hero" of mine or someone that I "worship". I may occasionally, in jest, say that I do (ie: Colbert is my HERO!), but in reality it's simply admiration for an action or a quality that a person has.

For me, inspiration has always been more abstract. I've always found that the most inspiring thing for me is to imagine myself as the person I want to be - not basing that on any particular person, or "hero", but the qualities that I think will make me a better, happier person based on my own morals and goals. I've never looked to others to define that for me - I define it for myself. It's not that I've consciously rejected worshipping a hero(es), it's that I've never been inclined to do that.

[Ravenseye]

19. I don't

I'm a non-theistic scientific humanist agnostic, but I don't think I have any 'heros'. I look for advice to people I respect, I read about successfull figures in different walks of life in order to try and learn what they did to be successfull...Yet there is nobody I would go ga-ga about to see in person.

"hero-worship" is something I don't really understand. I don't really 'get' religion, but at least an all powerfull deity makes some sense to worship. A sports star or a celebrity? No I dont' get that. I could hypothesis as to why people do so (OCD etc), but I have no real idea. I doubt this type of having a hero or not has a connection to religion. I even wouldn't be surprised if more Athiests had Heroes than say Christians (discounting any Christian religious figures ie God, Jesus, Mary, et al).

[reyd reid reed]

23. I don't think I do...

Sure, there are people that I admire and respect. Some that I'd even like to emulate to a degree if I can do it without losing myself...but heroes?

That implies worship...and, well...

No. I don't think so.

[jobycom]

24. Your notion is pretty weak

I hear religious people all the time railing against idolizing any humans. Recognizing good qualities in them, maybe, but not idolizing them. That was a constant theme of one of my old preachers, in fact. He even warned against putting too much trust in Billy Graham (who was hot back then).

I've been very religious, and I'm now an atheist, and I'm the same person. Same opinions of heroes, same values, etc. You'll find the same types of people on both sides of the issue, and some on sides of the issue that aren't easily categorized.

Myself, I don't have heroes, but I admire certain people. Jimmy Carter is the closest thing, I guess, but even so, I don't think he's flawless, nor do I have a need to cling to him for security. I simply find a lot of traits I admire in him, and use him as an example to strengthen them in myself. Many others (including religious people like Gore, Jackson, etc) have traits I admire, too, and I use them the same way.

I've never understood the desire of some atheists or some religious people to find some great difference, or worse, some point of superiority, over the other.

[leftofthedial]

25. just you

and the pope (anyone who can pull off that level of bullshit deserves our respect)

[Rhiannon12866]

27. Ah. The pope. As for the present one, I have no comment.

But Karol Wojtyła, who became Pope John Paul II, is a man who deserves our respect. I defended him during the "religious wars," LOL, here, since he stood up to the Nazis and saved lives, placing himself in real jeopardy, and worked behind the scenes for Solidarity. Despite his religious conservatism, I respect him a great deal. He also criticized Bush* severely for his unprovoked attack on Iraq, despite Bush*'s efforts to use the Pope's death for political gain...:-(

[Rhiannon12866]

26. I have no celebrities as heroes, unless you mean people like FDR or JFK.

Jimmy Carter is my hero. Also Dennis Kucinich and John Conyers. These are people with real courage, who are making a difference. Russ Feingold is one who steps up to the plate, as well.:-)

My real life heroes are my friends in animal rescue. They brought me my dogs and display courage, everyday, that I just don't have, though I did rescue my cat, myself. But these people go above and beyond...:-(

[Mojambo]

28. Spider-man. n/t

[Random_Australian]

29. For reasons unrelated to atheism, no heroes, not even parents are

heroes. Nor other family.